Jack Beckman already had more than his share of success in Indianapolis’ Funny Car specialty races. On Sunday, he found room for another trophy.
Beckman won the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, defeating Matt Hagan in the final round of the eight-car bonus event during the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals.
The John Force Racing driver covered the track in 3.980 seconds at 323.19 mph in his PEAK Chevrolet SS, pulling away after Hagan encountered trouble near the finish. The victory gave Beckman his fifth win in an Indy Funny Car bonus race.
It also kept alive the possibility of an Indianapolis double. Beckman, a two-time U.S. Nationals winner, will return Monday looking for his third victory in drag racing’s biggest event.
Beckman’s day carried an extra connection to John Force. His Chevrolet is adorned with a tribute scheme patterned after Force’s 1996 championship Funny Car, a season in which Force won 13 of 19 races and claimed his sixth NHRA championship.
Beckman made sure the throwback colors were around for all three rounds Sunday.
He opened the Callout by defeating Chad Green, then advanced past J.R. Todd in the semifinals to earn his shot at Hagan. When Hagan faltered in the final, Beckman finished the job.
“Our first shootout win was special to get one, and then when you get two, you’re like, ‘This is awesome,’ and then when I got four, and then I was done driving [after the 2020 season], I thought, ‘Still pretty good amount of trophies, more than I ever thought or dreamed I was going to get in here,’” Beckman said. “And to come back into a competitive car right away, and then to get to close the deal on a day like today is incredible.
“We just treated it like race day, and it worked out.”
There is still another race day waiting.
Beckman knows Sunday’s trophy guarantees nothing when eliminations begin Monday. At Indianapolis, where five qualifying sessions and a bonus race precede the U.S. Nationals eliminations, managing the long weekend can be every bit as important as surviving one quick run.
“It’s a long race, and if you can’t handle the ups and downs of that, you’re in the wrong sport,” Beckman said. “Our performance is measured in thousandths of a second, so I’m going to try to get a good night’s rest and hopefully come back a little bit closer to normal tomorrow because I know we’ve got a car that can repeat.”
